Maintaining good health in as we age improves life expectancy, reduces the risk of chronic diseases, supports quality of life, and helps maintain independence. Healthy aging with good nutrition through healthy eating habits are behaviors and choices that can enhance your ability to engage in your community, manage your personal health, and lead a fulfilling life. In addition to a healthy diet and regular exercise, you need nutrients to support your cardiovascular and circulatory health for optimal function.
By incorporating four essential elements of wellbeing into your daily lifestyle, you can support healthy aging and maintain a healthy balance in your microbiome and promote a strong immune system. In this article, we summarize the evidence supporting general dietary recommendations to promote the health and wellbeing of older adults.
Food Choices That Promote Anti-aging
A nutritious diet is one of the best things you can do for your health as you age. Those who eat the right way to live a healthy life not only protect their health as we age but also their life expectancy.
Plant-Based Diet
A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has highlighted the role of plant-based foods in prolonging healthy life years and promoting active and healthy lifestyles. Plant-based diets support healthy aging and could significantly reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. We strengthen and maintain the role of plant-based nutrition in healthy years of life and in working life while promoting measures in the areas of physical and mental health, health care, and social support.
Mediterranean Diet
The diet commonly referred to as the Mediterranean diet has suggested its link as a possible approach to supporting healthy aging. Early adaptation to a healthy diet can strengthen strategies to improve nutritional health as we age as it helps promote cognitive health and reduces the risk of other diseases from developing in later life.
Here are more tips to ensure that you incorporate the right food groups into your diet:
Eat Whole Foods
The best way to protect our health as we age is to eat healthy unprocessed foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, including other food sources for healthy fats..
Include Healthy Fats & Minerals
Eating nutritious foods and taking supplements can help you stay healthy as we age. A healthy diet for people of all ages includes healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium and potassium, as well as proteins and fiber. Diets for older adults should contain good potassium levels to maintain a healthy balance in blood flow to the liver, kidneys, and other organs. The key to proper nutrition in older people is to improve their diet and maximize their intake of healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium and potassium.
Maintain A Healthy Protein Intake
Animal protein sources are generally well accepted by the elderly, and even a small amount can help maintain healthy protein intake - rich foods such as beef, pork, poultry, fish, and eggs. When properly selected and cooked, a tender piece of meat can also help maintain a healthy level of vitamins, minerals, and other vital nutrients in the body. Red meat provides a good source of omega-3 fatty acids and possibly vitamins A, B2, and C. In addition to these nutrients, you should also consume polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as red meat, dairy products, eggs, nuts, and seeds, as well as vitamins B4, B6, and B12.
Although red meat is considered to contribute to saturated fat intake, red meat contains a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, which could help reduce cardiovascular disease and improve cognitive abilities. These are nutrients that prevent nutrient deficiencies and chronic diseases in the elderly..
Avoid Processed Foods
One of the most important steps in using nutrition to support healthier aging is avoiding processed, refined, and inflammatory foods. After cutting processed foods from your diet, it’s time to incorporate more fruits and vegetables and other carbohydrate-rich foods that support healthy aging within your diet.
Age-Related Challenges
Healthy eating is important as we age, and it becomes even more so when we reach mid-life. Middle-aged adults are beginning to feel signs of aging and need to continue to promote their health and wellbeing through diet and exercise. Let’s delve into the common age-related challenges when keeping up with good nutrition.
Varying Nutritional Needs
Since nutritional needs vary widely from person to person, it is not possible to treat the elderly as a group, but individual assessments of the elderly are crucial to ensure adequate nutrition. Portion sizes can help older adults and their caregivers determine the amount needed to meet their daily dietary needs, as well as identify food groups that make up a healthy plate to encourage healthy eating patterns. Older people tend to also have a reduced energy requirement due to a reduction in Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is associated with decreased muscle mass. Dietary choices can address the nutritional concerns of many older adults and help improve health at all stages of life. Those with nutritional needs that have developed at different stages of life may consider including nutrients that are lacking in their diet.
Role of Nutrition in Healthy Aging
A healthy diet promotes healthy aging and reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. During the aging process, good nutrition can help middle-aged adults maintain their health and combat medical problems and problems they may experience. Good eating can help prevent many health problems as we age, and even if previous dietary and lifestyle choices do not align with dietary guidelines, older adults can still do much to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and other health problems from developing further.
Diet and health are one of the most important factors in preventing the development of chronic and degenerative diseases. The use of fortified foods can help elderly people meet their needs for micronutrients. Their diet must contain a sufficient amount of macronutrients, especially proteins, and should be encouraged to eat easily digestible foods with a high proportion of micronutrients. A diet that does not provide sufficient nourishment may contribute negatively to recovery, aggravate existing health conditions and accelerate degeneration and development of diseases.
Establishing a perfect balance of nutrition in your life is an ongoing challenge as you age. When you want to learn more about the foods that your body requires and what foods you should eliminate from your current diet, meet with our nutritionist at Natural Care Chiropractic to discuss your nutrition goals to help achieve optimum health and healthy aging.